Today is Friday, Oct. 20, the 293th day of 2006 with 72 to
follow. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn
and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto,
Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra include:
Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus in 1466;
English explorer Capt. James Cook in 1728;
Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini in 1782;
Isaac Singer, developer of the first practical home sewing
machine, in 1811;
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the U.S. in 1858;
etiquette arbiter Emily Post in 1872;
longtime "Tonight Show" producer/director Fred De Cordova
in 1910;
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1914;
actresses Nanette Fabray in 1920 (age 86)
and Ruby Dee in 1924 (age 82);
pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1923;
former Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1925 (81);
pop pianist Floyd Cramer in 1933;
comedian John Cleese in 1939 (age 67);
filmmaker Ivan Reitman in 1946 (age 60);
actors Carrie Snodgress in 1945,
Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") in 1952 (age 54),
Robert Picardo ("Star Trek: Voyager") in 1953 (age 53),
and singer Simon LeBon in 1958 (age 48).
On this date in history:
In 1659, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, two
Quakers who came from England in 1656 to escape religious
persecution, were executed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
for their outlawed religious beliefs.
In 1787, a New York newspaper published the first of 77
essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its
ratification, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison
and John Jay and later combined as "The Federalist Papers."
In 1795, a treaty with Spain settled Florida's northern
boundary and gave navigation rights on the Mississippi River
to the United States.
In 1904, the first rapid transit subway system in America
opened in New York City.
In 1946, the travel show "Geographically Speaking,"
sponsored by Bristol-Myers, became the first television
program with a commercial sponsor.
In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were divorced,
reportedly after a blowup over her famous "skirt scene" in
"The Seven Year Itch," in which a blast of air lifts her
skirt.
In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew
recognition of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers
Organization for an illegal strike by its members.
In 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died at age 89. And
rumba king Xavier Cugat died at 90.
In 1991, Poland had its first fully free parliamentary
elections.
In 1992, Israeli tanks rolled into Lebanon as air force
jets staged renewed raids in an effort to crush Muslim
fundamentalist guerrillas.
In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton presented Congress with the
administration's new plan for healthcare reform in a
ceremony at the Capitol.
Also in 1993, Southern California was hit by dozens of brush
fires -- the worst in six years. Hundreds of homes were
destroyed and thousands of people were forced to flee the
flames.
In 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the U.S.
prison population topped the 1 million mark for the first
time.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest Atlantic
storms ever recorded, began its four-day siege of Central
America, causing at least 10,000 deaths.
In 2003, as many as 40 civilians and U.S. soldiers were
killed in a flurry of terrorist bombings in Baghdad. Among
the targets was the 3-story headquarters of the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
In 2004, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was
reported to be dying. A Palestinian minister said doctors
were frantically trying to save the 75-year-old Mideast
leader's life.
In 2005, after weeks of blistering criticism from both
Democrats and Republicans about her qualifications, Harriet
Miers withdrew her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Also in 2005, ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded
oil company, said its earnings were up 75 percent during the
third quarter on higher energy prices before and after
hurricanes Katrina and Rita.